Brie Goldman. Food Stylist: Annie Probst
21.07.2023 - 22:59 / awaytogarden.com
HOW DID A PLANT FROM THE ANDES turn itself into an international star, and the world’s most-eaten vegetable, with more than 300 million metric tons consumed a year? Celebrate the humble but adaptable potato, Solanum tuberosum, with tips on growing, harvesting, and most of all storing, in case your harvest is in need of a winter home any week now:Yes, the potato has gone truly global; the intricate story of its journey through the centuries is probably best told by the International Potato Center.
China, and now India, are the biggest producers of potatoes today–once the claim of Europe, North America and the former Soviet Union–though I am hard-pressed to think of a Chinese dish featuring them.
storing potatoesI COULDN’T SAY IT BETTER THAN the Farm Security Administration did to farmers and would-be farmers in the 1942 slides I borrowed from the Library of Congress (below). Potatoes, perhaps counter-intuitively, need humidity to keep well over the long haul. (Click the first thumbnail, then toggle slide to slide using the arrows by the caption.)
After experimenting in a few possible locations, I actually figured out the “right” storage spot at my place, and had my own potatoes right into spring. The hiding place, a closet in my mudroom, was as close as I could come to their ask of high humidity combined with dark and cold (ideally 40 degrees, but ranging from 38 to 45). First I had to cure them in a just slightly warmer place. Need all the potato harvest, curing and storage details?
growing potatoesTHE POTATO WOULDN’T BE the fourth-most-consumed food crop in the world (behind only wheat, corn, and rice) if it weren’t relatively easy to grow. The biggest decision is what you’re going to use to hill them up, as the process of
Brie Goldman. Food Stylist: Annie Probst
As Digital Content Editor Christine Alexander explains, pollinators play a vital role in our ecosystem and we should all be doing our part to support their populations:
Flowers are usually the first things that grab our attention when we are selecting plants to add to our landscapes. However, most plants only flower for a short period of time, so it behooves us to consider plants’ other attributes—and there are many! Sometimes the same flowers that seduced us into opening our wallets are replaced with an amazing fruit display. Colorful fruits of all shapes and sizes can add drama to our landscapes throughout the year. In addition to their visual beauty, many fruits are important sources of nutrition for wildlife, particularly birds. Here are a few examples of awesome plants whose fruit shines in the garden in summer, fall, and winter.
You may have already noticed that rice prices are higher than normal, which is largely due to the impacts of the war in Ukraine and erratic weather for the leading global suppliers of the grain. Now, India, the world’s largest exporter of rice, just banned nearly half of its overall shipments in order to reduce its domestic prices following heavy rains, which impacted the rice harvest. You might be asking, “What does this mean for me?”—we’ve got you covered. The good news is, if you’re worried about how the ongoing global rice shortage could impact your plate, you’re not alone, but you don’t need to panic.
There are a lot of things to go wrong with plants in the greenhouse but a red spider mite infestation is one of the most frustrating. This tomato plant in India has had its day.
This species of plants originate in central China. The closely related species R. molle japonicum come from Japan. Both these deciduous varieties are relatives of the popular Ghent and Knapp Hill hybrids.
Some trees are named to confuse. The Indian Bean Tree is not from India and it doesn’t grow beans. As a native of north America it is named for a North American native Indian tribe. The seeds are produced in long bean like pods.
It shows how long this blog has been operating. The Rio Olympics 2016 will be the third time we have commented on suitable Olympic flowers. See Beijing 2008 and London 2012 below. Today is the ‘Anniversary Games’ in London a curtain raiser for the Brazil games. For Brazil we should start with the nut (OK so that is the author) and then the Cacti as he is a prickly sort of guy. Feeding plants and flowers with fertiliser or hormone treatment will not fall foul of the drug testing rules – there are no plant urine samples to test!
After salad crop failures in Spain and shortages of courgettes, broccoli and other ‘long distance’ vegetables gardeners could to worse than focus on traditional and non-traditional root crops.
Modern tea gardens may seem to be a contradiction but since the 15th century the wabi tea ceremony has influenced the tea gardens purpose and design. Originally when tea plants (Camellia sensi) were introduced into Japan from China in the 6th century they were the prerogative of the ruling classes and used expensive ingredients and equipment.
I will use Shangri-la as an all encompassing name for spiritually based gardens and areas of harmonious natural beauty stealing a name from James Hilton in his novel Lost Horizon.
Lavender fields are impressive, not just because of how incredible they look, but because of the feeling of calm and peace they create that is so hard to find elsewhere. That relaxing property is just one of the many reasons why we love to grow this plant at home, but lavender is also wonderful when used ornamentally. Couple this with its soothing effect and charming aroma, and you start to scratch the surface of its many, many uses.